The word in German is zeitgeist — in English it means the spirit of the time, a time bookended by events defining it. Today’s zeitgeist is one of caution on the part of men in our relationship with women. A touch can precipitate a hailstorm of criticism, and fame can turn to infamy with a squeeze. So it is with Al Franken, and with our president, though while Franken is paying for that squeeze, President Trump is being allowed to slide into home plate safe even after being tagged.
I remember an incident on a New York subway train. The car was crowded and I stood holding on to a vertical rail. A woman stepped up to the rail opposite me and pressed a breast onto my hand. I guess I was supposed to feel outrage, but apparently my education in that area was lacking. I just continued holding on and endured the violation. Just think of the headlines I could make if that happened today. But such contact on both sides of the gender divide was hardly news then.
Victimhood is in the eye of the beholder. What happened in my case might be seen as a violation or as a religious experience, people gathering together in crowded subways, worshiping in their own way.
